Pope Benedict Endorses "Spirit of Assisi" in Quest for Peace

Assisi, Jun. 18, 2007 (CWNews.com) - On a June 17 pilgrimage to Assisi, Pope Benedict XVI issued "an urgent and heartfelt appeal for all the armed conflicts bloodying the earth to cease, for arms to fall silent and everywhere for hatred to give way to love, offense to forgiveness and discord to union."

Speaking at midday outside the basilica of St. Francis, the Holy Father said: "Our thoughts go out particularly to the Holy Land, so beloved by St. Francis, to Iraq, to Lebanon, to the entire Middle East." He urged international efforts to stop "the horrors of combat, of terrorism, of blind violence" there and in other trouble spots.

As he celebrated Mass on Sunday morning in Assisi, the Pontiff recalled the inter-religious day of prayer for peace, organized there in 1986 by Pope John Paul II. That meeting, he said, was the result of "a prophetic intuition and a moment of grace."

That was a particularly significant statement from Pope Benedict, since in 1986 then-Cardinal Ratzinger was perceived as a critic of the inter-religious event. In his homily at the June 17 Mass the Pope addressed the reasons for his concern, saying that in inter-religious affairs the Catholic Church must avoid "any form of religious indifferentism, which has no connection with authentic inter-religious dialogue."

The positive result of the 1986 meeting at Assisi, the Pope continued, has been the development of a common spirit among religious leaders that is "opposed to the spirit of violence; to the abuse of religion as a pretext for violence." He added that the effort to promote inter-religious dialogue is perfectly in keeping with the mission of the Church and the example of St. Francis. "Failing to bring together acceptance, dialogue and respect for everyone with the certainty of faith that all Christians, like the saint of Assisi, are called to cultivate, would be neither evangelical nor Franciscan," he said.

Italy's Prime Minister Romano Prodi was among those in attendance as the Pope celebrated Mass. Later he sat with the Pontiff at lunch at the Franciscan monastery. Prodi, whose plans to recognize same-sex civil unions have been roundly denounced the Italian hierarchy, received Communion from the Pope during the morning Mass.

Click here to share this news story with a friend.

Terms of Use    Privacy Policy